I gave my GMAT this month(the new format)...and scored a 750(Q51,V40).
I am here to share a quick few thoughts ; reason -- when i was preparing , i used to read these stories and they gave me motivation and also calmed me a lot.(The stress can be overwhelming sometimes
).So here are a few basic things about my experience --
-- I started preparing in around June , so that means about 4 months of preparation for me(exam date was 1st Oct).
-- I had a good quant background
a poor verbal one 
.-- I had no clue of the IR and AWA's.
-- I was very much confused when i started the process ,as to aim for R1 of applications or R2(Eventually chose R2 , which is evident from my GMAT date).
Considering all these factors , plus the fact that i work in a company where my office timings are 12-12(Yeah , not kidding
), I thought a 700+ would be a very far fetched dream for me.But the thing that set me in motion was the GMAT prep software.I gave the first test on July 3rd and voila scored a 710.So that meant i had three months to improve my score to a very decent level(or atleast maintain it
).I did the usual study rounds , Manhattan Verbal was my bible , and ofcourse the OG12.
This might sound cheap or laborious(or both) , but i gave almost all the free practice test available out there on my weekend time schedule , that included Mahanttan, KAPLAN,cracktheGmat,GAMT Prep ,Princeton and a few more on MBA websites(like Hult's free test etc.).
I also had some paper pencil material with me that i used to give a verbal test almost every night.
By around the mid of September i was consistently scoring a 710 or 720 (sometimes higher , but 740 was my maximum) . Frankly it was a bit scary as it was normal to think that my actual score is going to be 20-30 points less than what i was scoring on my mocks , added to that the fear of AWA , and the fact that my speed was regularly failing me in IR , i almost had a nervous breakdown around 23-24 Sep , when i gave my last Kaplan test and scored a 700.
But thanks to tons of blogs and forums on the net that consistently tell you that Mr. Kaplan gives the hardest test and all such discussions(i only took into consideration those blogs that were helping in explain my score and promptly rejected the non-supporting ones
)I bounced back.And that helped. I gave my 2nd (and final practice test) GMAT prep on 27th September , and thankfully scored a 760.And again believing in what people on blogs have said about the actual score being a very close match of the GMAT prep , i settled into a zen state of "we will see what happens next".
We all know the result of that now
.So , just a final few tips to the people who are going to sit for the GMAT in recent times -->
Don't worry too much about IR , the only thing that matters there is speed.If you are able to solve questions and do calculations in decent amount of time , you will cruise through IR without much hiccups.
For AWA , don't panic , read some 6 point essays , try to write one with each of your practice tests , and that's it.Don't over spend time on those , i spent just the last 2 days on my AWA's and i am quite confident that i will score ok(Haven't received the AWA and IR scores yet
).The most important thing about the Rest of the GMAT -- PRACTICE.Specially the fields that you are weak in.I was very poor in SC when i started out , but with time i gained a lot of confidence .Also ,keep testing yourselves with the questions of that area , no matter how miserably you are performing(that might not help in scoring a 100 % on a section like say SC but that sure will give you the confidence so that you don't screw up any other parts of the test in panic , and who knows you might actually score a 100%
).Hope that helps...
Good luck to all the GMAT aspirants !!
) , and thats pretty much close to what you would score.
